This week, we'll be investigating the properties of the Osha Root. The Latin name for this plant is Ligusticum porteri. It's other names include: Bear Medicine, Colorado Cough Root, Chuchupaste, Porter’s Wild Lovage, Indian Root, and Mountain Ginseng. The root of the osha plant is a traditional Native American herb. Most Native American tribes treated this root with high regard as it was very crucial to their everyday needs. The tribal groups of the Zuni, Chiricahua, Tarahumara and Aztec were among the many groups who used this root. Osha got the name “bear medicine” because it was noted by Native Americans and early settlers that bears would seek it out when they first emerged from hibernation as a...
Herb of the Week - California poppy This week, let's take a look at the California poppy. The Latin name for this plant is Eschscholzia californica. Its other aliases include: TheGolden Poppy; California Sunlight; Cup of Gold; Copa de Oro; and Khishkhash Kalifornia. The California poppy was first identified by Adelbert von Chamisso. He named it's genus after Johann Fredrich von Eschsholtz, who was his friend and colleague on Otto von Kotzebue's scientific expedition to California aboard the Russian ship Rurik in the mid-1810s. California poppy is the state flower of California, and is native to California. Its natural habitat extends to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Throughout history, people have admired...
"Black Seed" (Nigella Sativa) has been known to Unani-tibb (Graeco-Arabic traditional) medicinal practice for it's effectiveness as a curative for a variety of illnesses for well over a thousand years, and numerous modern medical studies have shown it's principle constituent (Thymoquinone) to be an effective antioxidant, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory agent, to name but a few properties. The following sites can give you a more detailed understanding.
Nigella Sativa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigella_sativa
Black Seeds
http://www.missionislam.com/health/blackseed.html
Midnight Garden Apothecary offers Nigella Sativa seeds, and we also offer Black Seed extractions in alcohol, glycerin, and traditional honey infusion using the "prophetic method" of Unani-tibb practice.
This week's herb is Turmeric . Turmeric has a very wide amount of medicinal actions, and is an anti-oxidant, hypo-glycemic, antimicrobial, vulnerary, carminative, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, cholagogue, anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic, and stomachic. Midnight Garden Apothecary offers Turmeric in both Powdered and Tinctured forms. Latin Name Curcuma longa Description Turmeric grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the key ingredients in many Asian dishes (it is what gives yellow curry it's color). Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine) recommends turmeric in food for its potential medicinal value. Most turmeric that is used is in the form of rhizome powder, in some regions (especially in Maharashtra, Goa, Konkan and Kanara), turmeric leaves are used to wrap and cook food. This...